title: Prevalence and risk factors for cardiac diseases in a hospital-based population of 3,434 horses (1994-2011).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Risk factors for cardiac diseases in horses have not been explored in a large population of animals.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe risk factors for various cardiac diseases in a hospital-based population of horses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Files of 3,434 horses admitted at the Internal Medicine Department of the Liege Equine Teaching Hospital between 1994 and 2011 were reviewed and of those, 284 were categorized as having moderate-to-severe cardiac disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational study. After calculating prevalence for each cardiac disease, we tested whether breed (chi-square test) or sex, age, body weight (BW), and other cardiac diseases (logistic regressions) were risk factors (p < .05 significant).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mitral regurgitation (MR, 4.4%), atrial fibrillation (AF, 2.3%), aortic regurgitation (AR, 2.1%), and tricuspid regurgitation (TR, 1.7%) were the most common cardiac abnormalities detected. Determinants were male sex and increasing age for AR (OR = 2.03, CI = 1.07-4.94), racehorses breed and middle-age for TR (OR = 4.36; CI = 1.10-17.24), and high BW for AF (OR = 3.54; CI = 1.67-7.49). MR was the most common valvular disease associated with AF, clinically important ventricular arrhythmia, pulmonary regurgitation (PR), and congestive heart failure (CHF). TR was also associated with AF, PR, and CHF; AR was not associated with CHF.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Several previously suspected risk factors for a variety of equine cardiac diseases are statistically confirmed and other risk factors are highlighted in the studied hospital-based population. These observations should be taken into account in health and sport's monitoring of horses presenting predisposing factors.
authors.affiliation: Equine Teaching Hospital, Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liege, Sart-Tilman, Liege, Belgium.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Leroux
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Detilleux
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Sandersen
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Borde
authors.forename: R M A C
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Houben
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al Haidar
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Art
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Amory
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D006736:Horses; D006762:Hospitals, Animal; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Cardiac arrhythmia; Epidemiology; Equine; Valvulopathy